12.18.2009

Jade Fitzgerald and Max Benson find their wedding day fast approaching with all the assorted relatives, and past baggage along with the joy, of their special day. Jade thought she left her past behind a decade ago, but when her gypsy-like mother, Beryl Hill, shows up with her younger sister, Jade's old insecurities come barreling to the surface. Can God's grace help to mend her family's broken hearts and somehow meet in the middle before it's too late?

A redemptive story from multi-platinum recording artist Sara Evans.

Jade Fitzgerald left the pain of her past in the dust when she headed out for college a decade ago. Now she’s thriving in her career and glowing in the light of Max Benson’s love.

But then Jade’s hippie mother, Beryl Hill, arrives in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee, for Jade’s wedding along with Willow, her wild younger sister. Their arrival forces Jade to throw open the dark closets of her past--the insecurity of living with a restless, wandering mother, the silence of her absent father, and the heart-ripping pain of first-love’s rejection.

Turns out Beryl has a secret of her own. She needs reconciliation with her oldest daughter before illness takes her life. In the final days leading to the wedding, Jade meets the One who shows her that the past has no hold on her future. With a little grace, they’ll meet in the middle, maybe even before that sweet by and by.

1. No, we will probably NOT have a white Christmas here in GA.2. I love playing "childhood" games with my sisters/family at the old kitchen table.3. I watched the steam rising from the hot cup of coffee (or tea or hot cocoa) and thought: hmmm...I need to add whipped cream to my grocery list.4. Allen's family is eventually going to be okay.5. I'll take new books anytime...anywhere!!6. Family/friends are one of God's greatest gifts... at least from my point of view.7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to trying to catch up on reading and blogging, tomorrow my plans include going to a flea market with DH and Sunday, I want to finish wrapping the rest of my Christmas gifts!

This will be my first Reading Challenge for 2010. I absolutely love reading Romance, so this should be a very fun Challenge for me! Here are the guidelines:

* Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

* There are four levels:

-- Curious – Read 3 Romance Fiction novels.

-- Fascinated – Read 6 Romance Fiction novels.

-- Addicted – Read 12 Romance Fiction novels.

-- Obsessed – Read 20 Romance Fiction novels.

* Any book format counts.

* You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

* Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Only books started on January 1st count towards this challenge.

* When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to the post about the Romance Reading Challenge. Include the URL so that other participants can find join in and read your reviews and post.

Since I love reading romance books (all genres), I'm choosing the Obsessed level. My TBR selection is large, so this should be fairly easy. I plan to keep up with how many books I read in 2010...not just romancesthough...any/all booksI happen to read. I've never done this before and I'm curious as to how many books I can read in a year. This should prove to be interesting; if I can remember to keep up with them all!

Callie Duflay just isn’t like the rest of her family. While they’ve built white collar lives, she prefers getting her hands dirty by working with children and local California causes. When Callie learns that a beloved piece of untouched property in her town of Otter Bay may soon be developed, she confronts the architect assigned to the project.

Gage Mitchell may be an easygoing, eco-friendly professional, but he’s not about to back off this job no matter how cute Callie or her pet pooch, Moondoggy, may be.

His reasons and hers are noble, both have a heart for protecting God’s creation, and the truth is these two would be perfect for each other outside of this face-off. But will they ever find common ground?

12.15.2009

My DH's family desperately needs your prayers! We found out this evening that his uncle, Billy, had committed suicide. It was very sudden, and unexpected; especially right here at Christmas. We've just gotten home from spending time with the family, at the hospital.

Please remember Billy's wife, Karen, and his son, Blake. They are just devastated! As far as we know, the funeral is scheduled for Thursday. This is going to be a very tough time for DH and his family, so your prayers will be greatly appreciated.

To reassure her overprotective parents, Victoria Thurston must convince the town marshal to be her "holiday husband." But the magical, festive air--and Tori's luminous green eyes--make it very difficult for Logan Daniels to keep to their marriage in name only!

The Homecoming by Elizabeth Lane

Brooding rancher Clay McAllister paid his reckless brother's dues in a tough Kansas jail. Now Clay must win back his beautiful wife, Elise. And, after three years apart, some yuletide passion is just what Clay and Elise need to reignite the fire that still smolders between them....

The Cattleman's Christmas Bride by Pam Crooks

With her reputation cruelly slandered, Allethaire Gibson is forced to flee to the snowy Montana mountains. There the dazzling socialite unexpectedly finds a Christmas romance with a man who has fought for respect just as she has--rugged cattleman Mikolas Vasco!

1. Good times: reading a book, spending time w/family & friends, etc..2. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" in my home.3. Sleigh bells ring "are you listening?". 4. Going to the library every Friday was my favorite summer activity when I was little.5. Once more, with attitude!!6. Will my annoying headache ever end? *sigh*7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to catching up on my reading and my sleep, tomorrow my plans include hubby taking me to dinner & a movie (for my b-day) and Sunday, I want to enjoy being with my family as they help me celebrate my b-day (which is actually not 'til Monday, btw)!

Single mom Julie Donavan is looking for a place to start over. What she finds after buying a small house on five acres is nothing short of a nightmare.

Single dad "Lucky Griffin" Luckadeau has been crossing horns with his elderly neighbor for years. But when his daughter, Annie, decides she wants the new little girl who lives on the feuding property to be her friend, or better yet her sister, the sparks fly.

These two stubborn hotheads, who irritate each other beyond endurance, refuse to admit that it's fate that brought them together. And running from the inevitable is only going to bring a double dose of misery…

Share two teaser sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

Share the title of the book that the “teaser” comes from ~ so people can find the book if they like the teaser.

And remember – AVOID SPOILERS!!

Here's mine:

"With the blood-soaked towel out of the way, the enormity of the wound made her glance up at *****, who was focused on the task before them. ***** swallowed her question and began digging out debris, pieces of cloth, bits of wood, and bone where a rib had broken off. Please *****, get here soon."

Forced into a scratchy white beard and a red velvet suit two sizes too small, hotshot ballplayer Alex Boxer knows his goose is cooked when the woman supervising his community service turns out to be cute as a Christmas elf but channeling the nutcracker.

Naughty or Nice - Sandra Hill (1996)

Anyone can hold up a convenience store on Christmas Eve. But to do it impersonating Santa Claus, on behalf of a nun, handcuffed to a gorgeous hostage - that takes brass... bells.

Christmas Unplugged - Joy Nash (2009)

Two sisters, plus two brothers, plus one romantic Christmas weekend at Dutch Lodge with zero electricity. It all adds up to a sleigh load of mix-ups, breakups and happily-ever-after hookups.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this Christmas anthology immensely! Normally, I'm not a fan of "older" stories being thrown in with new releases, but I didn't even realize that Sandra Hill's story, Naughty or Nice, was over 10 yrs. old when I read it. Though it wasn't my favorite of the three, it was enjoyable.

Ho, Humbug, Ho is actually the 5th installment in Kate Angell's "Richmond Rogues" series. If you've already read the first 4 books, you may want to grab this one to add to your collection. This story was my least favorite, but it did have a few funny instances. I especially liked the snappy one-liners delivered by the Nutcracker. *wink*

In my opinion, Christmas Unplugged was the best. Even though the characters became intimate really quickly (like the very first night!), it was still a great story. I really enjoyed getting to know sisters, Casey and Emma; and brothers, Matt and Jake. They created some Christmas memories to last a lifetime. Matt and Jake's family are Dutch, so that added an interesting twist. This story carried the most "heat"...maybe that's why I liked it best?? LOL

As with all anthologies/novellas, it would have been better if the stories were a little longer, but hey, that's what they are, short stories, so I won't complain. Sometimes, they're just what I need...something quick and easy to read! Plus, I'm a sucker for Christmas romances. :)

Well, my friend Renee, over at Black 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot, just posted pix of her Christmas tree for 2009...so I thought I would do the same. *grin*

(room lights on...flash off)

(room lights on...flash off)

(room lights off...flash on)

In case you're wondering...yes, our tree is in our dining room!You're thinking...what a stupid place for a tree, right?Weeeelllll, our living room is so small that we would haveto put it right next to the fireplace, and we didn't reallywant to do that. So...that left the dining room. *sigh*

Thanks to Marcia @ The Printed Page, we get a chance to sharewith others any books we've received the previous week,via our mailbox.Be sure to comment and leave a link to your Mailbox Monday post,or just post your list in your comment.

*****************************

Since I didn't have time to post my books last week,I've combined 2 weeks in this post.

Deserved or not, Cal Riker's skill with a gun gives him a deadly reputation that sometimes comes in handy. Like saving an enticing, sassy beauty from a ruthless outlaw gang. Laura Daniels is too furious about the indignity of her rescue to be intimidated by the cool, silver-eyed stranger. Until she finds out who he is. But is he truly as lawless as they say? As she discovers an interesting side to this renegade cowboy, Laurel starts to wonder.

Riding West

Just take her. The advice seems radical, but after five fruitless years of courting Celia Evans, Parker West is desperate. Kidnapping her is as drastic measure, but what has he got to lose? After she gets over the shock of being tied her up and carried off to the mountains, Celia finds she likes the sparks that fly as Parker teaches her exactly what it means to be a woman. Under his reserved exterior lives the lover of her dreams, a cowboy who knows how to give a girl a wild, intensely pleasurable ride.

No sooner is Shawn Collins home from the fighting in Europe than he is called upon to serve his country in another way--as a speaker on the war bond tour. While other men might jump at the chance to travel around the country with attractive Hollywood starlets, Shawn just wants to stay home with his son Patrick and the aging father with whom he has finally reconciled. When Shawn taps Katherine Townsend to be Patrick's nanny while he's on the road, he has no idea that she will be the key to his future happiness and the mending of his heart. This heartwarming story of tender love and fresh starts will capture readers.

I'm in the process of reading The Unfinished Gift, and noticed inthe very back that this sequel is going to be released in 2010.I have only gotten to page 29, but I can tell this is going to be agreat book, and that I will be reaching for the tissuesbefore I'm done!

Share two teaser sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

Share the title of the book that the “teaser” comes from ~ so people can find the book if they like the teaser.

And remember – AVOID SPOILERS!!

Here's mine:

"'Don't ask him', she interrupted. 'Do you honestly expect him to disagree with you? Here,' she said, holding out her hand. 'You've got money. Give me some and I'll go down to Hodgins's and buy something decent.'

12.01.2009

Deezel weighs around 35 lbs. now...he only weighedabout 9 lbs. when we got him back in August.

You can see how little he was if you look athis pic in my sidebar. He's growing so fast!!

Here's a few more pix of him...

You can see his "inadequate" Igloo dog house behindhim in the top 2 pix.It was fine for the Summer & Fall, but now he needs somethinga LOT warmer...since he has very little fur to keep him warm.

Well....my DH has been building Deezel his very own "mansion"for about 3 weeks now, and it's finally done! DH and someof his friends are going to move it this afternoon.I'm so excited!! I can't wait to see what Deezelthinks about his new house! :)

Wah-lah!!

The front porch has since been painted white, but those pixare not on my camera?? It's COLD outside, and I'm justtoo lazy to go take more! LOL

We have a wireless fence, so Deezel can run "free" in the yard,but we're afraid to leave him on it all night, until we're surehe won't try to run off...that's why he's on his runningchain in the pix.

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About Me

I love, love, love to read! Romance is my favorite (Christian Fiction, historical, contemporary, etc.). I do enjoy mystery/suspense or chick-lit, on occasion. If you have a book(s) you think I may be interested in reviewing, just email me at: sugarandgrits{at}hotmail{dot}com.